The Breast Blog: You are the PERFECT Breast Health Ambassador.

Eve Ensler, playwright and author (Vagina Monologues) has released a new book and play titled The Good Body. Very succinctly, The Good Body is the story of Eve's relationship with her stomach, the body part destine to take the brunt of Eve's self hatred. She is not alone either. In true Ensler style, she talks to other women from around the world gathering their self-hatred stories as proof of the universal epidemic.

Like Eve, I listen to many women talk about how they would like to 'fix' some part of their anatomy, often their breasts, thinking that by doing so a perfect life would unfold. On and on and on goes the lists of perceived imperfections.

Lovely, kind, smart, talented women who really believe themselves to be less than perfect in their natural form.

I feel huge compassion for these women. When I look at them, I don't see a problem. I see the unique woman I'm looking at.

During the first class on my last belly dance series, the multi-aged and shaped women were asked to form a circle and one by one tell the class what their favourite body part was.

Feet and eyes seemed to rate well with the group. No one liked any part of their torso. Some mouths, hair and hands made the cut.

When it was finally my turn, I simply said that I liked my whole package, top to bottom and didn't want to single any part out for fear of insulting another, vital body piece.

There was a noticeable pause in the go around as women stared at me in wonder. One woman muttered that I was lucky.

It's not luck. It's my intention.

I'm not Barbie. And yet, it's true that in my younger days, I tried to take on that impossible Barbie image and make it mine. Diets, fasting, brutal exercise, hair this and that, creams, lotions, makeup, clothes, clothes, clothes....all my energy, all my precious, creative wonderful energy got sucked up into consuming, fixing, FIXING myself so that I could be accepted. By ? For ? I have no idea. But I cry tears over all that wasted energy.

Funny thing is....I eventually realized that I was never broken. And in the flurry of earning, spending and applying the next solution to a problem that wasn't mine....I certainly wasn't the woman I was born to be.

I've learned that when I'm not obsessing about whether I look okay, I have energy to burn. And boy oh boy do the women and children of the world ever need my attention and energy.

The women of Iraq are having a very awful time of it and they could do with a strong message of support from you and me. There is a movement a foot by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace called Postcards for Peace.
Please check it out and then follow through with your own postcard. Make a collage, take a photo, write a poem.

Eve Ensler perfectly sums up her intention. (The Good Body) " is my prayer, my attempt to analyze the mechanisms of our imprisonment, to break free so that we may spend more time running the world than running away from it."